Dubbed one of the world's largest single-dish radio telescopes, China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is getting a helping hand from smart robots, which will be used to maintain its operations and help with its different tasks.
FAST needs as much help as it can get to ensure its continued operations, with reports claiming it is tapping intelligent robots for support.
China's various organizations are working together to help maintain this land-based telescope, all joining forces to provide the telescope with its robotic workforce.
'China Sky Eye' Is Getting Robots to Help With Maintenance
China Media Group (CMG) reported Friday that the country's self-developed intelligent robot systems and platforms had passed the acceptance tests for maintenance service for FAST, dubbed the "China Sky Eye," according to CGTN.
CMG confirmed the use of smart robots for the telescope's continued operations and maintenance after the robots had passed all the necessary tests and checks they needed for its upcoming deployment.
Guizhou Radio Astronomy Observatory is leading this project along with 10 other organizations, including the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Harbin Institute of Technology.
"The intelligent robots are expected to add about 30 days to the telescope's observation period annually," said Jiang Peng, FAST's chief engineer, as CGTN reported.
Read Also: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Gets Blinded by Countless Glittering Stars in Galactic Cluster
China FAST: Autonomous Workforce for Operations
The renowned FAST is massive, and it needs many workers and assistance it can get to continue its operations in surveying the deep space.
These robots will be tasked to "test the supporting cables and pulleys of FAST's feed, automatic maintenance of its actuators and laser targets on the reflector, the disassembling and installation of feed receivers, the monitoring of radio interference, and the all-weather measurement of its 30-tonne feed cabin," according to reports.
China's FAST, The Land-Based Telescope
It was only in 2016 that China completed the construction of FAST, which has a reception area equal to 30 standard football fields. This project was conceived in 1994 and only began its construction in 2011, with the country and organizations alloting as much as $180 million.
The telescope's massive dish helps the country obtain signals from the depths of the universe, with different reports claiming it picked up strange chatter from faraway locations in space.
FAST was the only remaining giant single-dish telescope in the world after the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed in 2020. It has been a significant loss to the space industry.
Now, almost seven years after its launch, the FAST telescope is getting a new workforce that could help its operation and maintenance to keep the ball rolling for the scientific community investigating space.
Robots would be deployed to help keep its operations running smoothly and ensure everything is in check alongside its human workforce.
Related Article: China's Sky Eye Telescope Could Have Potentially Detected Suspicious Signals
